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Saturday, July 17, 2010

Celebrate good times, c'mon!

If you're an old head like me, you probably have that song stuck in your head now. Ha!

Piper's birthday was great and we had a such a fun time celebrating! I took a vacation day from work, but kept it secret from Piper. She thought I had to go to work and was clearly disappointed that I couldn't be home. After she fell asleep, hubby and I stayed up late to decorate. When she woke up in the morning, she was shocked to see me home and decorations already put up.

The banner was printed on card stock and hung with ribbon.

The birthday girl requested pancakes and I couldn't resist making them into a "10."

Then came Piper's favorite part of any birthday... presents!

In addition to some store bought stuff she wanted, I made her a little something something handmade.

A doll quilt for her American Girl dolls.

No one was able to beat out the gift she got from her great grandpa... a brand new bike! I didn't manage to get a pic of her riding it yet, but it's a sweet little bike and she's thrilled with it.

In the afternoon, we took Pi and one of her friends to see Toy Store 3 in 3D. Such a cute movie and I highly recommend it!

Later in the evening, we had a small party with our family, a few neighbors, and some of Piper's friends. There were cupcakes AND ice cream cake. I swear I gained 5 pounds on Wednesday.

There were actually two doll quilts. The hearts quilt was made with scraps left over from a baby quilt I made for yesterday's baby shower (I'll post that soon) using THIS pattern at Moda Bake Shop. Pi fell in love with the baby quilt, so I thought a miniature version would make her happy.

Making these teeny tiny quilts helped me try some new skills, like applique and free motion quilting.

You can see my stitches are far from perfect and I've got a lot of practicing to do when it comes to free motion quilting. But, I find it really enjoyable and it's not nearly as intimidating as I thought it would be. THIS tutorial from Oh Fransson! was a huge help!

Both quilts are backed with this crinkly fabric (no clue what it is), that I found at Goodwill for $2. 2 yards for $2 can't be beat.

Overall, it was a great day and Piper was as happy and excited as I've ever seen her. Thanks to my family for driving way out to Jersey on a weeknight to celebrate with us.

I love the quilts (so cute!), especially the rickrack and gingham - two of my favorite things!

I always struggle to come up with ideas to celebrate my kids' birthdays, because they're barely a week apart, both in January (which rules out stuff BBQs or picnics at the park), and then being a boy and a girl, and 5 years apart in age, their interests are so different, especially now that my daughter's nearly a teenager.

Great idea for the pancakes. My oldest just turned 10 a few months ago, and I'm wondering "Why didn't I think of that?" :)

Love your quilts too. It's hard to choose which one is my favorite. I really like the colors with the black and white accent on the heart one, but I also have a weakness for anything that has cupcakes on it. My mom is just getting into free motion quilting, so I'll be sure to share your post with her.